Our solicitor has identified a defect with the lease for the flat we are buying in Pratt's Bottom. The seller’s lawyers have put forward defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our conveyancer says that he must check that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is the bank?

Even though you have a mortgage offer from the bank does not mean to say that the property will meet their provisions for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook provisions. You and the lender are the client. These conveyancing instructions must be adhered to.

Various web forums that I have come across warn that are a common cause of obstruction in Pratt's Bottom house deals. Is there any truth in this?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published determinations of research by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the top 10 causes of hindrances in the conveyancing process. Local searches are unlikely to be the root cause of slowing down conveyancing in Pratt's Bottom.

The deeds to my house can not be found. The lawyers who handled the conveyancing in Pratt's Bottom 5 years ago no longer exist. What do I do?

Nowadays there are copies made of almost everything, and your conveyancer should be aware exactly where to locate all the relevant paperwork so you can buy or sell your property without a hitch. Where copies are not available, your lawyer can put in place insurance or indemnities against future claims on the premises.

Am I better off to appoint a Pratt's Bottom conveyancing solicitor based in the location that I am hoping to buy? We have a good friend who can carry out the conveyancing however his firm is located approximately 350miles drive away.

The primary upside of using a local Pratt's Bottom conveyancing firm is that you can attend the office to sign documents, hand in your identification documents and apply pressure on them where appropriate. They will also have local insight which is a plus. That being said it's more important to get someone that will do a good and efficient job. If if people you trust used your friend and on the whole were content that should trump using an unknown Pratt's Bottom conveyancing lawyer just because they are local.

Our solicitor in Pratt's Bottom is asking me for ID documents saying that this is part of his requirements as a conveyancer on the lender Conveyancing panel. This is news to me - can I refuse?

Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offence if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage, your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy the lender. This is not unique to conveyancing in Pratt's Bottom